I do Brew in a Bag for about a quarter of my brews. I've done big strong beers, light hoppy ones, quick sours, dark & smokies . . . all without a proper vorlauf. I've never had a clarity issue, tannic issue or storage issue (up to about 2.5 years thus far).

I've always assumed the vorlauf step was one of those kind of ridiculous things propagated through years of empiric experience. I still do a quick quart-or-so, but don't worry if I don't (say, if I'm trying to unstick a sparge).

No empirical evidence to substantiate, but a clearer wort (all other things being equal) will produce a clearer beer faster than a cloudy wort - or so I believe. So, I Vorlauf and even skim break on lighter paler beers. YMMV

No empirical evidence to substantiate, but a clearer wort (all other things being equal) will produce a clearer beer faster than a cloudy wort - or so I believe. So, I Vorlauf and even skim break on lighter paler beers. YMMV

I have tested that theory several times and found no correlation between the clarity of the wort and the clarity of the finished beer.

No empirical evidence to substantiate, but a clearer wort (all other things being equal) will produce a clearer beer faster than a cloudy wort - or so I believe. So, I Vorlauf and even skim break on lighter paler beers. YMMV

I BIAB most of my brews and end up with a crapload of trub in the fermenter, but it all drops like a rock after a day or so. I've never noticed a difference between my all-grain and extract brews when it comes to clarity. The only factor that I find to be a significant variable in how fast a beer clears is the yeast strain. But, as you said, YMMV. I don't really worry too much about beer clarity so I may not be looking at the fine details as closely as others.

No empirical evidence to substantiate, but a clearer wort (all other things being equal) will produce a clearer beer faster than a cloudy wort - or so I believe. So, I Vorlauf and even skim break on lighter paler beers. YMMV

I have tested that theory several times and found no correlation between the clarity of the wort and the clarity of the finished beer.

+1. Good attention to pH is much more important for clarity. Time and cold will drop hazy beer clear if pH is good.

No empirical evidence to substantiate, but a clearer wort (all other things being equal) will produce a clearer beer faster than a cloudy wort - or so I believe. So, I Vorlauf and even skim break on lighter paler beers. YMMV

I have tested that theory several times and found no correlation between the clarity of the wort and the clarity of the finished beer.

+1. Good attention to pH is much more important for clarity. Time and cold will drop hazy beer clear if pH is good.

Interesting to hear your views - my focus was the speed at which the beer clears - again "all other things being equal"... My reason for reducing the trub is that I routinely harvest yeast in lagers. The less suspended materials to start with, the less time it takes for that beer to clear. I've noticed it by brewing the same beer several times with the same yeast - but as stated, YMMV.